Some helpful links on sharing videos

Since I have made this month's Living Out Loud Project video-based, I wanted to give you all some helpful hints on where and how to upload your video(s). Remember the deadline is Sunday May 3 at 5pm eastern and if there are at least 10 participants someone will win a Flip Mino HD camera. Check out the details for this 4th Living Out Loud Project for information on what your video should include. Flickr Recently, Flickr starting allowing anyone (free or paid accounts) to upload video! So if you have a Flickr account (which is easy to make or link to your yahoo account), you can easily upload videos that are 90 seconds/150MB or smaller. More info about video is available on their Flickr Video FAQ. Anyone can upload HD video (if you have that option) but only paid accounts have the option of HD playback.

YouTube There's a great video on how to upload items to YouTube. Like all of these web sites, you have to create an account before you can upload video, but that's easy enough to do.

Vimeo I started playing around with Vimeo a few years ago when it was first introduced (it came from the Flickr folks). Once you've created an account you can upload your video. The limits for the free account are up to 500MB a week! There's also a handy video tutorial on how to upload videos. And there is a ton of info in their FAQ. My account is still a free one on there and it suits my needs so don't feel like you'd need to upgrade to a Plus account unless you get that video bug and want more space etc.

Editing Videos If you are on a Windows machine, you can use Movie Maker to edit the video. Mac users should have iMovie on your machine by default. There are plenty of other fancier editing programs out there, but those should get you started if all you want to do is clip out some dead air or add captions etc.

Embedding Video Once you've uploaded your video, most blogging platforms allow you to embed that video using specific HTML in your entry. Look for a button or text that says "embed". If you are on LiveJournal, the embedding process is a little different since their security restrictions won't let you use those typical HTML codes. But you can still embed video within LiveJournal entries easily.

If you do not have a blog, feel free to submit your video link via email directly to me. You can use your blog or the video description area itself to elaborate on what you've created.

I'm very excited about this project and it's a challenge for me too since I'm not really sure what I'm going to talk about yet. But we still have two more weeks ahead of us to plan. Be sure to spread the word so we'll have those 10 (or more) participants and someone will win a kick ass prize! And if you run into technical difficulties, just let me know and I'll do what I can to help.

Sing your life. *

"What can I compare you to, a favorite pair of shoes? Maybe my bright red boots if they had wings." - The Weepies "Take It From Me" My love for people is proportional to their music collection. Ok, fine, I know and love many people who own less that a dozen albums they could put their hands on. But if pressed to choose individuals to be trapped on a desert island with me, that list would rely heavily on what music collection they could bring with them.

"What band would you take with you a deserted island? And no fair picking the Doobie Brothers just because there are like 12 of them and you could eat them if you had to." - Rich

I had a bit of a rough day today. By the time I got to lunch, I couldn't decide if I wanted to find food or just park the car somewhere and listen to music at volume 11 for an hour to restore myself. As I shook the windows of the Mini Cooper with the Weepies, I realized how much I associate music with periods of my life or people I've known.

Someone once said that the music you listened to when you first started getting laid will always appeal to you no matter how your music tastes change or you age. While I'm not sure if that's true, I enjoy that there are so many songs that bring me fond memories and I instantly associate with friends. It's like everyone I know has a theme song. Really, I should invent a gadget you could wear that would subconsciously transmit your theme music to those around you.

Every time I hear Don Henley or Van Halen, I think of Steve, his perennial running shoes and painted on jeans (and that goofy way he sways his head back and forth when listening to peppy music).

Little Feat will forever be associated with Jeremy, in overalls and covered in blacksmithing soot. I heard the muzak version of "Willin'" in the airport and took silly joy in realizing no one else around me knew the lyrics included "weed, whites and wine."

Morrissey will always remind me of Fereshteh and our five hour road trip with those albums on repeat. Dead Milkmen was the tape Ian gave me as a gift when I should have agreed to be his girlfriend in 8th grade. Talking Heads is my oldest brother Doug's soundtrack (on actual vinyl) and Perry always sparks memories of his rant about Blues Traveler's "I like coffee and I like tea? I can't understand shit like that!".

I can't pick a single artist for Kim since her music collection may be one of the few that's larger than my own and we cover so many years of so very many artists and phases. And most show tunes remind me of Becca and her Very Pink Bedroom.

Last but not least, my sweetness Rich will always have theme music of Mighty Mighty Bosstones and always at volume 11. He has so much style he requires hearing protection to be around him.

If you had to pick your own theme song, what would it be? Is there a song that makes you think of me?

* The title of this post is a Morrissey song that includes the lyrics, "Sing your life. Others sang your life and now is your chance to shine." That line was one of my senior quotes in high school.

Living Out Loud volume 4: Don't tell me. Show me.

I'd like you to tell me a story. Tell me about your childhood home. Show me your favorite place to spend a sunny afternoon. Explain to me how you get your hair to do that awesome thing that it does. Teach me how to draw a turtle. Interview someone or have someone interview you. Show me your signature move. But I don't just want you to tell me, I want you to show me. And the best way to show me is through the magic of moving pictures. It's time for our fourth Living Out Loud Project, and as promised this one is going to be a little different. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so wouldn't moving pictures be worth even more than that?

Let's talk about the rules for this project.

• Your submission must be in video form. It can be hosted on any video sharing site such as YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo or any other site you prefer.

• There is no minimum or maximum length, but you obviously have to tell a decent story.

• Once you have completed your entry and posted it, please email me the link at genie [at] inabottle [dot] org.

• The due date for entries is Sunday, May 3rd at 5pm Eastern. This gives us one more weekend for those of us who wait until the last minute.

• You must either be in the video or narrate a significant portion of the video. This is a project on living out loud, after all.

• Once I have collected all the entries, I will post a wrap-up to list them all and announce a winner.

If you're looking for inspiration, check out the 90-second Stories Group on Flickr.

The prize for this project is a little different too. First, I'm telling you about the prize up front, perhaps to help entice you to participate. Second, I've kicked the prize up a bit. On the condition that there are at least ten (10) participants, one entry will win a prize of a Flip Mino HD camera. If there are only nine participants, though, I reserve the right to offer a much more lame prize, so tell your friends and encourage them to play along!

If you are concerned that you are clueless in the ways of video recording and sharing, never fear. I'll be posting some tutorials and information in the coming week or so. Your job in the short term is to think up what story you want to tell. The rest will be easy.

So dust off your video camera in whatever form it may take or borrow one from a friend. Ponder what you'd like to talk about and I'll help you with the rest. If you have questions about the parameters of the project feel free to comment or email me. I look forward to seeing what you all produce!